Resumption blues at UNICAL

Students of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) are yet to return after the management announced the beginning of the second semester. The students are asking the authorities to extend their holiday to enable them prepare for lectures. STANLEY UCHEGBU (Accounting) reports.

The University of Calabar (UNICAL) resumed for second semester last Monday. But students are not willing to return to school. They said the break given by the management after their first semester examination was short.

While the management did not give any reason for the “short break”, students believe that it could be a way of re-adjusting the school calendar disrupted by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike, which shut down universities for almost 11 months.

According to the new calendar, academic activities are to begin on October 10, but the campus is in doldrums. When CAMPUSLIFE visited the campus last Monday, there were a few students around; many were yet to return to school. Visits to faculty offices showed course outlines and timetables were yet to be released.

Some of the few students around, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, complained about the short semester break.

“It is not up to one week we finished our first semester examination,” Sylvester Agande, 300-Level Economics student, said. A semester break should last, at least, three weeks for students to refresh and prepare for another, he added.

Nelson Imeh, 300-Level Pure Applied Chemistry, said he was not happy with the management’s decision, saying the first semester was hectic for students.

“I planned to go home and relax after exam, but management released the resumption date for second semester when students were yet to finish their exams. With this, we are expected to stay back on campus for the next three months,” he said. Nelson urged the management to extend the resumption date to enable students relax.

The previous semester was stressful, said Jeremiah Eteng, a 100-Level Physics student, noting that students were hastily taken through the course outlines to make up for the lost months. “Now, we have resumed to be rushed again? When are we going to rest?” she queried.

Emmanuel Effiong, a Biochemistry student, said there would be pressure on students, given the management’s effort at making up for the lost period in the school calendar. He said: “With the way things are going, we would be put under pressure as they did last semester. The management should consider our plight and adjust the resumption date for to refresh our brains.”

But an official of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), who craved for anonymity, said the management did the right thing in asking students to resume. He said: “We wasted time because of disruptions and strike. To me, the resumption is in order. When students are back, we will elect and inaugurate the parliament so that SUG can start work immediately.”

Cynthia Ubong, 200-Level Agricultural Economics, said: “I am not interested whether the school resumes or not. I have to spend one month at home before returning to campus. I have to assist my parents, who are doing petty trading in Uyo. More so, I have to get prepared for the new semester.”

Medical Radiography students complained about the resumption date, which they said was a deliberate attempt by the management to deny them their clinical posting that is normally done during the semester break.

A 400-Level Radiography student, who identified himself as John Franklin, said: “If students are to resume on October 10, as ordered by the management, it simply means that we have been deprived of the mandatory clinical posting. We will return the log book given to us blank. This is not good for us because the requirement to be inducted as a radiographer is to have filled the 1000 cases of patients in the log book.”

The management should consider extending the break for Radiography students, said Michael Essien, a 300-Level Medical Radiography student, adding: “I do not know why we are running the same calendar with other department. We are supposed to have a separate calendar like the Faculty of Law.”

Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof James Epoke, has reiterated that the management would not change the resumption date. Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE after inauguration of the SUG, the VC said: “The campus has been re-opened for second semester activities and this is why we are here to inaugurate the new SUG executive members. I advise students to disregard rumour of resumption date extension.”